These Guava Rugelach Taste Like Home
Inspired by European immigrants in Latin America who transformed traditional pastries through local ingredients.
Rugelach are one of those pastries that travel well — not just in a lunchbox but across centuries and continents. The version I grew up knowing in Venezuela had guava paste folded into the dough instead of the traditional apricot jam, a substitution that arrived with Eastern European immigrants who found tropical fruit and made it their own. It is a small act of culinary translation, and a delicious one.
- 240 gplain flour
- 225 gcream cheesecold, cubed
- 225 gunsalted buttercold, cubed
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- 1/2 tspfine salt
- 200 gguava pastecut into small cubes
- 50 gcaster sugarfor rolling
- 1 tspground cinnamonfor rolling
- 1eggbeaten, for egg wash
As featured on
The Nosher ↗In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt, butter, and cream cheese until the mixture just comes together. Add the vanilla and pulse once more. Divide into three discs, wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
Roll one disc into a circle about 30 cm (12 in) across. Scatter a third of the guava paste over the surface, pressing gently.
Cut into 8 wedges. Roll each from the wide end to the point, then roll in the cinnamon sugar. Place on a lined baking sheet, point-side down. Brush with egg wash. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bake 22–25 minutes until golden. Cool 10 minutes before eating — the filling will be very hot.
The dough keeps in the fridge for 3 days or frozen for a month. Roll and fill straight from cold — cold dough is much easier to handle.
Membrillo (quince paste) is a beautiful substitute. Chocolate and walnut is the classic European version.
Roll thinner for crispier rugelach, thicker for chewier. Both are correct — it depends on your grandmother.